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Giant panda leaves San Diego for new life in China

The Associated Press

Posted:
01/11/2014 10:32:08 AM CST

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FILE - This Jan. 6, 2010 file photo shows Yun Zi, the five-month-old panda cub, playing in one of the panda exhibit areas at the San Diego Zoo in San Diego. This giant panda born at the San Diego Zoo is being sent to China. The zoo says Yun Zi was crated up and driven to Los Angeles on Thursday Jan.9, 2014, in preparation for the flight. His keeper and a veterinarian will accompany him. The zoo s pandas are on loan from the Chinese government, which decides where zoo-born offspring go after they turn 3. Yun Zi turned 4 in August.

SAN DIEGO—A giant panda born at the San Diego Zoo is being sent to China.

The zoo says Yun Zi was crated up and driven to Los Angeles on Thursday in preparation for the flight. His keeper and a veterinarian will accompany him.

The zoo's pandas are on loan from the Chinese government, which decides where zoo-born offspring go after they turn 3. Yun Zi turned 4 in August.

The zoo prepared Yun Zi for the trip by making the special bread he'll eat in China instead of the kibble used in San Diego. He's also been fattened up to deal with the cooler temperatures of the mountains where he'll live.

China is trying to breed and preserve the pandas. Only about 1,600 are believed to remain in the wild.

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